The Tactics

HONDURAS HAS EVOLVED over the years into much more than the just the technically proficient, dominant Central American side it had been pre-2000. The modern Honduran game incorporates considerable size, speed, and strength, focusing on attacking in waves at speed. Occasionally vulnerable in back, Honduras makes amends with one of the strongest offenses in the region.

The results can be overwhelming. Witness the 8-1 drubbing in the final third-round group match against Canada. But the fact that the Catrachos needed to win that game to qualify for the Hexagonal also demonstrates how the Honduran game tends to turn cold abruptly, and with little warning. Finding consistent form has been the greatest challenge over the past decade for a team that at times has looked like the best in the region, only to come up short when it counts.

Honduras has, however, achieved some consistent success against the region’s best competition, while producing some incredible talent. And it returned to the World Cup in 2010. As these things tend to go, while the Hondurans clearly have Mexico’s number, they’ve struggled mightily with the U.S., losing at home to the Americans in the 2001 and 2009 Hexagonals.

The Catrachos tend to be a slow starting side in the Hex, which could be to the Americans’ advantage when they visit San Pedro Sula in early February. Less fortunate is that the Hondurans get the January Central American championship to warm up, though the ever more numerous Catrachos in Europe will miss out on that preparation.